Hooktooth Shark

Bronzy-grey above, white below when fresh, fading to greyish or greyish brown in preservation, dorsal fins often with dusky or black tips (Ref. 13567).

Viviparous (with a yolk-sac placenta), with 4 young in a litter (Ref. 244). Size at birth at least 20 cm (Ref. 244). Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205).

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Analspines: 0; Analsoft rays: 0

A common inshore and offshore shark found on the continental and insular shelves.Probably feeds on small fishes, cephalopods, and crustaceans.

A common inshore and offshore shark found on the continental and insular shelves (Ref. 13567). Probably feeds on small fishes, cephalopods, and crustaceans (Ref. 244). Viviparous (Ref. 50449). Caught irregularly by inshore gillnet fisheries and occasionally by small-scale longlining (Ref.58048). Probably taken by artisanal fisheries wherever it occurs (Ref. 13567). Utilized fresh for human consumption and by-products processed into fishmeal (Ref. 244).

fisheries: minor commercial; price category: unknown; price reliability:

分布於印度-西太平洋區，包括波斯灣、巴基斯坦、印度、斯里蘭卡、新加坡、泰國、越南、印尼、臺灣及中國等。台灣分布於西南海域。

主要以流刺網或延繩釣捕獲。肉質尚可，一般以煙燻食之或製成魚槳，處理過後之殘骸製成魚粉。

體細而延長。頭平扁，尾鰭前具凹窪。吻中長，吻端背視如楔形。眼橢圓形，具瞬膜。前鼻瓣如短葉片狀。鰓裂長，長度為眼徑之1.8-3.0倍。口裂呈長拋物線狀；唇溝一般長；上頜齒側扁三角形，齒頭外斜，外緣具3-4小齒尖，正中具一尖直小齒；下頜前部齒細尖，矛狀，邊緣光滑，不具小齒尖，後部有數齒外側基底具1小齒尖，口閉時下頜齒明顯突出。噴水孔微小。盾鱗具5棘突5縱脊。背鰭2個，形狀相同，第二背鰭較小；前緣圓凸，後緣深凹，上角鈍尖，下角延長尖突；第一背鰭起點在胸鰭內角之上方或稍後；第二背鰭起點在臀鰭之前；腹、臀鰭皆較第二背鰭小；胸鰭等大或略大於第一背鰭，略呈鐮刀狀；尾鰭狹長，稍大於頭長，上葉近尾端，下葉前部尖三角形突出，中部較低平，與後部間有一深缺刻，後部小三角形突出，尾端鈍尖。體側灰褐色，腹面淡白；第一背鰭後緣、第二背鰭上部、尾鰭上緣及尾端黑色，其餘各鰭邊緣淺色。

棲息於熱帶大陸棚或島棚至少達59公尺深處之近海和外海中小型鯊類。主要以小魚、頭足類及甲殼類為食。胎生，一胎可產下4-5隻幼魚。

The hooktooth shark (Chaenogaleus macrostoma), is a weasel shark of the family Hemigaleidae, the only extant member of the genus Chaenogaleus, but there is an extinct species, Chaenogaleus affinis. The hooktooth shark is found in the tropical Indo-West Pacific oceans between latitudes 30° N and 10° S, including the Persian Gulf, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam, China, Taiwan, and Java and Sulawesi in Indonesia, from the surface to a depth of 59 meters. It can reach a length of 1 meter. It is considered a vulnerable species.